The
Ontario Hockey Association granted the city of Ottawa an expansion franchise on February 16, 1967. Four months later, the team was given the nickname 67's, in honour of
Canada's centennial year. Three local businessmen—
Bill Cowley,
Howard Darwin and
Bill Touhey as well as Alderman Howard Henry—helped bring junior hockey back to Canada's capital. The 67's filled the hockey void left by the departure of the junior
Hull–Ottawa Canadiens and the semi-professional
Hull-Ottawa Canadiens. However, before the team played a game Touhey left the ownership group and Jack Kinsella became one of the owners in his stead. They played their first game at their own arena, the
Ottawa Civic Centre, on December 29, losing to the
Montreal Junior Canadiens 4–2. The first season for the 67's was terrible at best, with the team posting a final record of six wins, 45 losses and three ties. They made the playoffs in their second season, but lost in the quarter-finals to the Niagara Falls Flyers. The 67's reached the OHA finals during the following season in 1971–72. They lost to the
Peterborough Petes 3–0, with two ties. The 67's came close to playing at home in the
Memorial Cup, as the Ottawa Civic Centre hosted the tournament that year.
Brian Kilrea joins the 67's Darwin announced in May 1972 that he would resign as team president in June 1972 and this was quickly followed by Bill Long's departure as general manager and head coach in June as well. Howard Henry was announced as the team's new president.
Leo Boivin was named as Long's successor as head coach of the 67's and Ross Tyrell as general manager on June 18. After a rebuilding season in 1973–74, after which both Boivin and Tyrell were let go by the team after a surprise loss to the Peterborough Petes in the playoffs the 67's hired a young up-and-coming coach named
Brian Kilrea as both coach and general manager. Kilrea coached the team to three successive improved winning records, culminating in a victory in the
J. Ross Robertson Cup finals in 1977, versus the
London Knights, who were coached by former 67's bench boss Bill Long. During the late 1970s, Ottawa was led by scoring champions
Peter Lee,
Bobby Smith and
Jim Fox and future Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman
Doug Wilson. The 67's moved on to compete for the
1977 Memorial Cup versus the champions of the other Canadian major junior leagues, the
New Westminster Bruins of the
Western Canada Hockey League, and the
Sherbrooke Castors of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The 1977 Memorial Cup tournament was the first to be held in
British Columbia and the first to use a double
round-robin format. Ottawa lost the first game 7–6 to the Bruins, then won three in a row, 6–1 over the Castors, 4–3 in overtime versus the Bruins, and then 5–2 against Sherbrooke. However, Ottawa lost to the host Bruins 6–5 in the championship game. Bobby Smith and
goaltender Pat Riggin were named to the tournament's all-star team. Ottawa finished first in their division the following season, and were tipped to go all the way to the Memorial Cup tournament again, but struggled to finish off the
Wayne Gretzky-led
Soo Greyhounds in the first round The 67's rebuilt during the 1978–79 season, and returned to play for a second J. Ross Robertson Cup versus the
Kitchener Rangers at the end of the 1981–82 season. They were swept by the Rangers, but that season marked the first of three consecutive division titles from 1982 to 1984.
First Memorial Cup victory In 1984, the 67's reached the OHL championship series in a rematch from the 1982 OHL finals, against the Kitchener Rangers. As the team with the most points in the league, Kitchener had been chosen to host the
1984 Memorial Cup tournament. In the OHL itself, however, Ottawa had unfinished business, having lost to Kitchener two years earlier. The 67's, who finished second overall to Kitchener in the OHL, defeated the Rangers and won their second J. Ross Robertson Cup and earned a place in the Memorial Cup tournament. Stewart lasted until November, replacing him with Bob Ellett. The rebuilding team suffered through two dismal seasons after winning the cup, finishing third-last in the OHL in 1985 and second-last in 1986. The second Kilrea era was not as superb as his first coaching stint. The 67's finished as high as second place in their division two times, and reached the league's playoff semi-finals three times. The highlight of this era was
Andrew Cassels, the rookie of the year in 1986–87, and scoring champion in 1987–88. Kilrea went into coaching retirement after the 1993–94 season, remaining as the general manager. For the 1994–95 season, the 67's were coached by former scoring champion Peter Lee.
The third Kilrea era Brian Kilrea came out of coaching retirement in 1995 and replaced Lee. On June 10, 1998,
Jeff Hunt purchased the team from Howard Darwin and Earl Montagano. Kilrea was asked by Hunt to remain as coach for three more years, but would remain as coach until the end of the 2008–09 season, The Kilrea-coached 67's resurged to the top of the OHL, winning five consecutive east division titles from 1996 to 2000. In 1996–97, Ottawa finished with the most points in the league with 104, however, lost in the finals 4–2 to their division rivals, the
Oshawa Generals.
Memorial Cup, 2001 After winning their fifth division title, the 67's were bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Belleville Bulls in 2000. However, it was not long before the 67's went to the Memorial Cup again. Ottawa defeated the
Plymouth Whalers in the league championship capturing their second J. Ross Robertson Cup. The
2001 Memorial Cup was played in
Regina, Saskatchewan. Ottawa had tougher luck in this tournament, winning just one game in the round robin versus the hometown
Regina Pats, then ultimately losing to Regina 5–0 in the tie-breaker game. In the 2002–03 season, the 67's reached the OHL finals again, but fell to the eventual Memorial Cup champions Kitchener Rangers in five games. Ottawa, which won the division in 2003–04, suffered a surprise first round defeat in the playoffs to the
Brampton Battalion.
Memorial Cup, 2005 The 67's finished in sixth place in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05, but had a veteran-laden team that managed an impressive playoff run. Ottawa upset the
Barrie Colts,
Sudbury Wolves and Peterborough Petes to reach the finals versus the London Knights. The 67's lost the OHL championship to the Knights, but qualified for the
2005 Memorial Cup by virtue of being the league finalists versus the Knights, who were also hosting the event. In the tournament, Ottawa faced the Knights, the
Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL, featuring
Sidney Crosby, and the
Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. The 67's won the longest ever game played in the Memorial Cup tournament, when they beat the Rockets in double overtime. Ottawa finished in third place in the round-robin, and then lost to the Océanic in the semi-finals. ==Championships==